re: #200 Nimed

Ludwig, when the US is at war,

We clearly are.

we can kill enemy American citizens without a trial on the battlefield. But what this program does is in essence deem the entire world a battlefield.

Yes it does. That is the nature of the conflict.

Forget about Awlaki (and Beck) for a second. Are you comfortable with the idea that every President from now on (not just Obama) has the authority to order the assassination of any American citizen abroad?

I expect there to be some oversight, and no I am not comfortable about that. Like you, I can clearly see an unscrupulous president misusing this. Like you I am afraid of the slippery slope. However, this is not an unscrupulous use of that power. If you restrict the case to known enemies of America who have taken arms against this nation, and you maintain a free press, I think it will be ok.

I think this because the United States has killed many American enemies of America on foreign soil in the past and we survived it. Obama is not the first president to do so. Nor will he be the last. The fact that the list is made public is a very encouraging sign. What would scare me is if the entire thing were clandestine. In any case, this was all power given him by the Patriot Act. I am very against most of the Patriot Act for many reasons. However, removing terrorist leaders does not bother me.